We don't know when or if this item will be available.
“Gongfu! It’s absolutely pouring outside today, so I’m staying cozy with a tea session indoors and finally digging into my last white2tea order – starting with a 2023 Mistle Mini!! I’ve loosely...” Read full tasting note
A brand new black tea commission of sun dried black tea, made from high-quality material usually destined for raw Puer.
Mistle is a first time, long time type of situation. Long time fans of this producers raw Puer, but it is our first time commissioning them to make a black tea. Syrupy sweetness, thick bodied and soothing. It’s a cut above for a daily cup or a black tea that benefits from focused attention.
Gongfu!
It’s absolutely pouring outside today, so I’m staying cozy with a tea session indoors and finally digging into my last white2tea order – starting with a 2023 Mistle Mini!! I’ve loosely paired it with some cherries, though I’m mostly just nibbling on the cherries between steeps so that I can still get a pretty good sense of the tea since it is my first time tasting through it.
The liquor gets thick and syrupy pretty quickly once you get through the first couple awkward steeps as the mini fully opens up. Not to be gross, but those infusions are a bit like a “tea puberty” where you can see something good is coming if you just wait through the voice cracks and mood swings.
I may have pushed some steeps a little far as I did get some upfront bitterness at times, but there were also intense notes of malt, rye bread, ultra dark chocolate, sweet potatoes and a dense fruitiness like cooked down stonefruits – leaning more in the “red and purple” vein like black cherries and plums, less so peaches or apricots. Jury is still out on this one for me – I see some really interesting and appealing elements, but I think I need to sit with the session longer before making up my mind. Maybe keep my steep times a little shorter or use a bigger gaiwan in the future…
Between all my spring tea orders, I actually ended up picking up quite a bit of black tea. Like, much more than I usually would this time of year. It’s been fun having exciting new blacks to taste through in between all of the sheng!!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtUXofnu3He/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW0uLIMXjFM
